questions about review of pip

mnms45,

Lots of questions, first things first. If you didn't ask them to visit you at home, then it depends how you felt about that - if you would have preferred to go to an assessment centre, & you feel that you would have been able to do so (bearing in mind they are not all accessible), then you could complain, but it may be that having it at home saved you a journey & some stress - it depends on the circumstances. 

After your assessment, you would expect a DWP decision within perhaps 2 to 4 weeks, but there isn't any official timescale.

If you do get a higher rate it's unlikely to be backdated, but you could argue that if you indicated that you had got worse on the review form then it SHOULD be backdated. One of the complications is that you need to have been worse for long enough - at least 3 months in the past, and expect to be that bad for at least 9 months in the future. If you think you met those conditions when you sent in the review form, then I think you could argue for backdating to that date because that is when you let the DWP know about the change in your circumstances.

Re having a carer, no, that doesn't necessarily impact on your points score. PIP is supposed to be about the help you need, whether or not you get that help. Still, if you have a carer & you talked about what they did for you and why, that is evidence of the help that you need and what you can and cannot do by yourself in a safe way.

The health professionals indicate the points that they think apply, but it's technically the decision makers (at the DWP) who make a decision. However, in practice the decision makers tend to go with what the health professionals have concluded. 

If things don't go well & your payments stop or are reduced then do challenge the decision as soon as you can, and get a copy of the report to help you do this. 

Good luck!

Will